Chapter Text
Eddie walked around the park with a grin. His hands were set jauntily on his hips as he surveyed the fruits of his labour. People milled about on the grass, some sitting on blankets, some standing and talking. A few played a game of soccer in the distance. There was music blaring from a few different spots and the sound of conversation filled whatever silence was left. Eddie looked around noting all the different types of people that had joined him in his cause. Hippies, wearing tie dye colours and elephant pants. Punks looking ready to fight. A few metalheads like himself that he had invited personally. Plus a litany of other types just ready to spend the day outside and look like they stood for something. Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at his notifications. There were a few texts, as well as a stack of twitter notifications.
“Looks like you’re trending. Hashtag Save Forest Hills!” Eddie heard a chipper voice behind him and he swung around with open arms.
“Chrissy, baby! You made it!” He exclaimed, swallowing up the petite woman in his arms. She was dressed as brightly as she sounded, wearing a colourful dyed crop with bright pink shorts and a matching scrunchie. She laughed as Eddie squeezed her tightly.
“Edde, I can’t breathe!” She squeaked and he let her go, holding her out at arms length. He smiled broadly, excitement written all over his face.
“Can you believe this! I’m a fucking revolutionary!” He swirled around in a circle, arms out. Chrissy stepped back and swung her BPA free water bottle back and forth on her finger.
“I’m actually amazed, you did an incredible job. You think it was that video you made?” She asked and Eddie stopped, pulling out his phone again to open his tiktok account. He brought up a pinned video on his page, turning the phone around to show her the view count.
“1.6 million views and counting! Man, if I would have known how viral I could go being publicly angry before, I would have done it the moment I hit puberty. That’s where the anger really had me in its clutches, yah know??” He gripped the front of his tattered shirt tightly and Chrissy laughed.
“I think it was more of the message, but alright, get mad.” She giggled and they started to walk together through the park. Eddie felt giddy, waving to people as he passed and high fiving strangers. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was actually popular. He could see what all the hype was about now.
The video in question that had gone so viral and gotten him to this point was essentially just a rant that he had made while he was high and angry. He played his acoustic guitar as he babbled about how he had heard that the local park was about to be half demolished to make way for new apartments and parking lots for the downtown core. It had lit a fire within him, and Eddie made it known as most people do these days. He made a thirty second video and clicked that little upload button before passing out in his clothes, expecting a few comments or likes from his friends. What had ended up happening was a whirlwind. Eddie had awoken to hundreds of thousands of views, and a comment section full of people ready to fight the power. A week later, here he was. Thousands of followers richer and surrounded by people ready to save the park that he loved.
“I just can’t believe it. Like… I might actually win this! I’m like the mother fuckin’ Lorax over here!” Eddie laughed, hopping around in his combat boots and sticking his hands into his pockets. Chrissy followed along, smiling at her friend.
“I’m happy for you! Couldn’t happen to a nicer drug dealer!” She said with delight and Eddie winked at her.
“Hey, no matter your status or creed, we all like fresh air. Come on, some guy brought a mic and speaker. You can watch everyone cream their pants over me yelling at the man.” Eddie joked and Chrissy made a face.
“Yuck. Tone it down a little, Mr. Beast. This is about the park, not your ego. Besides, I’m just here for the sapphic hippy babes in their crocheted bikini tops.” She leered looking around on her tiptoes. Eddie blew a raspberry at her.
“Jokes on you, all genders love me.” He said airily before turning and jogging up to a man in linen pants, talking to him about the microphone set up. Within a few minutes, Eddie was standing up on a milk crate, tapping on the feed.
“Welcome, everyone! Can you hear me? Are you all streaming? Yes?” He yelled loudly, people wincing at the brief feedback before he heard a few cheers. He cleared his throat, glancing at Chrissy and giving her a little thumbs up before carrying on. “Thank you all for joining me in saving the beautiful, incredible, Forest Hills Park! How many of you grew up playing in this green space, huh? Are we gonna just let those capitalist fucks blanket this in concrete?!” He was surrounded by resounding fuck yeah's and hell no’s and the adrenaline built within him.
“Fuck no! That’s right! We are burning already with climate change and I say ‘NO MORE’! Are you all with me?!” More cheering filled the air and Eddie grinned, looking out around the building crowd. In the back of the group, a sidekick rolled up with two men wearing khaki coloured uniforms. Eddie frowned slightly. “Oh look, the fuzz is here to tell us off.” He spoke into the mic and watched as people turned and booed at the conservation officers stepping out of the small vehicle. One man was of a large build, the uniform shirt buttoned tightly around his gut. He was wearing a brimmed hat to shield him from the sun and had a rough beard, adding to the authoritarian look. The other man rounded the vehicle and Eddie’s eyes widened. He was tanned from the hours of work in the sunshine, wearing a spandex green long sleeved shirt under the uniform. His hair was light brown, shining in the daylight and framing his face. Eddie’s eyes trailed down and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the man’s shorts riding up around toned thighs and clinging to him perfectly. Eddie's mind short circuited.
“Uh… Yeah… I mean… Fuck the cops. Damn.” Eddie said awkwardly into the mic and people cheered lightly. He cleared his throat. “Let me pass this off to my friend here, who would love to say… a bunch of things. Probably.” Eddie jumped down off of the crate and handed the mic back to the man who had brought it, who took the opportunity to speak gratefully and started to rant into the speaker. Eddie walked up to Chrissy quickly.
“Woah, you're intimidated by a uniform? I never thought I’d see the day!” Chrissy hissed at him, following him into the crowd. Eddie laughed.
“No, I just don’t want them to cut this off before we even get started. Come on.” He pushed through the people, feeling pats on the back as he passed through trying to make it to the back. As he closed in on the officers, he could see the bigger one pulling out a megaphone.
“Alright people, break it up. Pick up your trash and move on. This is an unauthorised gathering, you’re making it harder to do our job.” His voice boomed over the speaker and Eddie furrowed his brow, breaking into a jog.
“Hey dude, we have a right to fuckin’ protest! This is our freedom!” Eddie yelled and people turned to clap for him. He rolled his eyes. That was going to get old quick. As he approached them, the other officer with the tight shorts turned to look at him. Eddie stopped in his tracks. The man was even more gorgeous up close, with caramel eyes and little moles decorating his darkened skin. “W… Woah.” He stammered before Chrissy grabbed onto his arm.
“Hey, he’s right, you know! You can’t make us leave!” Her delicate voice was in juxtaposition to Eddie’s own loud abrasive tones. He was glad that she showed up. The bigger officer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and walking over, the other man following after him.
“Look, little lady-”
“That’s misogynistic.”
“I… what? Okay, look, little… Human. We need to do our own jobs here and the fact of the matter is that you need to have a permit for large gatherings at this park under city bylaw. We will start ticketing every single person here if we have to. Do you understand? That’s $350 per head.” He loomed over Eddie and Chrissy but Eddie was still distracted by his partner who was standing with his arms crossed behind the other man.
“You can’t ticket everyone, you need names, ID’s. You’re not gonna get that from everyone here.” Chrissy shot back. The officer snorted. He leaned over his shoulder to address his partner.
“I got time. You got time, kid?” He asked and the handsome man nodded.
“I got time, Hop.” He said smoothly, shifting his weight so that his hip jutted out, the fabric stretching tight across the front of his shorts. Eddie pressed his lips together and looked the man up and down before connecting eyes with him. Eddie grinned and winked, causing a flush and awkward look to bloom across the officer's face. Eddie stepped forward, ignoring Hop and reaching out to the other man.
“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m-”
“HEY! Get a hold of yourself!” Chrissy yanked on Eddie’s other arm roughly, causing him to stumble back. Eddie yelped, trying to catch himself and falling into the girl. She hissed into his ear. The man looked at him oddly before pulling out his phone.
“You look familiar.” He said slowly before sliding his thumb across the screen and clicking a few things before turning his phone to Eddie and Chrissy. “This you?” Eddie peered into the screen, trying to see past the glare of the sun. Playing on the screen was his tiktok video reposted to twitter and tagged with #saveforesthills. Eddie smiled and looked up at him.
“Oh, do you follow me?” He asked and the man sighed, pulling his phone back.
“No." The man said flatly and Eddie’s smile faltered. "But if I scroll through this tag… Not too hard to find everyone here. Right, Heart emoji, sparkle emoji, Chrissy C, wlw era, flower emoji?” Steve squinted at the screen as he read out Chrissy’s twitter handle. Her eyes widened and she frowned and Hop started to chortle beside him.
“Nice job, Harrington.” He said proudly and Steve pocketed his phone, shrugging.
“Look, we don’t want a big scene here. Just give your little speech, and tell everyone to go home. You get your influencer spotlight and I get an easy day, alright?” Everybody wins.” The beautiful man that Eddie now knew as ‘Harrington’ gave him a look that told Eddie that he thought that he was just another dude looking for his five seconds of fame. Eddie snorted.
“Sure, sure. Got your back, handsome. Can I call you handsome?” Eddie leaned in, smiling. Harrington pulled a face and looked at Hop, panicked.
“Ah… I-... No? I’m on the clock…” He stuttered, clearly caught off guard. Eddie shrugged.
“Alright, beautiful. I’ll just go do my lil’ speechy thing, then I’ll be out of your pretty hair, kay?” He said, oozing with false delight. Harrington looked around as if it was too good to be true, but it was too late. Eddie was already headed back up to the front of the crowd, Chrissy in tow. She was grinning ear to ear, clearly knowing Eddie too well and seeing through his theatrics. Eddie nudged the man who was speaking off of the milk crate and grabbed the mic from him.
“Sorry, you mind?” He asked but didn’t wait for an answer before talking loudly into the speaker. "Attention, all you environmentally minded people! Like I was saying before, I'm so happy all of you could make it today. I'm sure you all took time out of your busy schedules to be here to support this cause." There was a round of agreement and Eddie grinned.
"Right, so isn't it just so inconsiderate, so rude, so downright selfish for these fine officers to ask us to disperse already? Before we have even had the chance to garner the attention of the corporate swine trying to destroy one of the last pieces of nature in this city?" Eddie shouted, punching his fist into the air. The crowd started to rally, turning to look at the two officers who were now looking quite nervous. Eddie’s expression turned to determined mischief.
"Help me tell these fuckers what we think! Hell no, we won't go!" Eddie started the chant which the crowd quickly picked up, yelling excitedly and throwing their hands up in the air. Eddie watched as they turned to the officers and Hop put his hands on his hips in exasperation. Eddie’s gaze connected with Harrington’s and he put his hand high in the air, waving excitedly and winking. The man rolled his eyes and said something to his partner before turning back to the sidekick. Eddie jumped down onto the grass once again, strolling up to Chrissy who was watching the crowd go wild.
“Holy hell, Chrissy… Do you see that?” He pointed through the people where Harrington was turning around, dialling in on the way his khaki shorts fit around his hips. Chrissy tilted her head before moaning. Eddie leaned in close to her ear.
“I’m definitely going to fuck that officer-”
“Oh, Eddie, no-”
“Eddie, yes.” He grinned evilly, elbowing his friend. She shook her head.
“Seriously? The enemy?” Her voice was pure exasperation. They started to walk together around the horde of people. Eddie smiled dreamily.
“Yes, because I’m not picky like you. I’m a romantic. It’s enemies to lovers.”
“You’re just a slut.” She muttered, swinging her water bottle by her side.
“Don’t shame me.” Eddie scowled and Chrissy sighed. They stopped at a stump that remained from a tree that was cut down long before.
“Why do you do this to yourself? He looks straight as an arrow to me. Total gym bro.” Chrissy looked at Eddie. He tilted his head to the side, having a clear view of the officer walking away now.
“Because, Chrissy.” He started, hopping up onto the log suddenly and causing the girl to jump. He pulled a joint from his pocket, holding it lazily between his fingers. “I am the Whorax. I speak for the trees… And by the end of this week?” He looked down at the girl, crossing his arms and kicking his foot out.
“He’ll be down on his knees.” Eddie spoke proudly and Chrissy gagged with so much vigour, Eddie truly thought it was real.
“Why must you ruin my childhood this way?” She coughed and Eddie rolled his eyes, taking one last look at the sidekick driving away. The group cheered, pleased with their success in forcing the conservation officers out.
“Probably on account of the insanity. Come on, I got a rally to run.”
–
Eddie walked through the park, whistling and happily kicking rocks down the pathway. The rest of the rally had been a rousing success, the hashtag soaring through the night with new posts and videos. The live streams had thousands of viewers and the story had started to hit local news outlets. Eddie took a deep breath through his nose, enjoying the fresh summer air and scent of the leaves and flowers. This park had been one of the few truly happy places in his tumultuous childhood, and the potential of saving it felt like redemption for Eddie. He laughed to himself, skipping a little and jumping up onto a large rock along the side of the path, bouncing off of it like he was Dean Martin in a vintage film. He skidded through the dust and looked up to see his destination in the distance. A small office that housed the park rangers for the green space. He smiled, rolling a stack of flyers that he had in his hand into a cylinder and heading proudly into the building. The door swung open easily and Eddie fell in dramatically. He put his arms in the air, eyes closed.
“Let me use my spidey senses, hold on. Am I lucky enough to have found the beautiful ranger, Robin Buckley in my presence?” Eddie opened one eye and his smile dropped. The park ranger he had expected was sitting at the desk in the room, arms crossed and a smile spread across her freckled face, but she wasn’t alone. The two conservation officers from the day before were standing around her desk, faces full of disbelief. Eddie frowned.
“Oh. It’s you guys.”
“You’re that little asshole from yesterday!” Hop stepped forward, hackles raised immediately. Eddie rolled his eyes.
“First of all, the term is ‘tight asshole’.” He turned his head to wink at Harrington. “You should keep that in mind, just saying.” The man flushed brightly and looked between Robin and Hop, putting his hands in the air.
“I have no-... We don’t know each other, I swear.” He stammered and Robin grinned. Eddie continued on without missing a beat.
“Secondly, I didn’t do anything wrong. Not my fault you guys fail to intimidate. I just want to save a couple trees, got me? Now if you don’t mind, I have business with Miss Buckley here.” Eddie slid past Hop easily and put his flyers down on Robin’s desk, leaving the man red faced and spluttering behind him.
“Listen, you fuckin-”
“Hey, hey! Not in my office! Everybody relax!” Robin stood up at her desk. She looked pointedly at Eddie. “Eddie, I know you get off on being contrary. Just tone it down for a minute, alright? Can’t just walk into places and go 0 to 100 all the time.” She said exasperatedly. Eddie had met her more than a handful of times in the past few weeks where he had been frequenting the park and they had gotten along quite easily. Eddie tilted his head.
“There’s another way to live?” He asked sarcastically and Robin laughed breathily.
“I wonder if you have ever known peace in your life.”
“Sounds boring. Anyway, I just came to drop some of these off. Flyers for tomorrow. Can you hand them out to visitors?” He asked, pointing down at the papers he had put on the desk. Hop reached in front of him, snatching one off the top.
“B.Y.O.C…. What the hell does that mean?” He grumbled before looking up at Eddie who grinned widely.
“Bring your own chain! Gonna save those trees with a good old fashioned 90s style protest. Unless you prefer I super glue my hands to them.” Eddie said pleasantly. Hop raised his eyebrows.
“I’d rather you super glue your mouth shut.” Hop grunted. Robin rolled her eyes.
“It is well within his rights to protest, Hopper. Why don’t we all sit down for a minute and talk about what’s going on, information is power, right-”
“Maybe it’s within his rights but it’s impeding on my ability to do my fucking job.” Hop interrupted and Eddie snickered. Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Steve, a little help?” She turned to Harrington who shook his head.
“No way. Hop’s right. This is stupid. If this guy would just let us do our thing, there wouldn’t be an issue. He’s just being a menace for the sake of fame.” Steve pointedly avoided Eddie’s stare. That would not do. Eddie turned and leaned in so that he was right in between Robin and Steve, waving.
“Hi, hello. My name’s Eddie, by the way. This menace? Is trying to save the environment a little, unlike you who literally has that as a fucking job description.” His eyes burned and Steve looked down slightly to connect with his gaze, annoyance written all over his expression. Eddie softened. He was a sucker for a pretty face, and Steve was probably a ten if it wasn’t for his attitude. Steve flushed slightly and cleared his throat.
“Well, Eddie… If you could just back off a little and give us some space, we could do exactly that. What do you think sitting next to a tree for a while is going to do?” Steve crossed his arms, taking a little step back from Eddie. He had planned for space but Eddie clearly didn’t know the meaning of the word, advancing with him.
“Hey, dude. You clearly wouldn’t understand. You’re just another cog in the capitalist regime, alright?” He moved his jaw out, set and angry. Steve snorted.
“What the fuck… Do you even know what you’re talking about here?” Steve shifted his weight like he had done the day before, jutting out his hip and Eddie’s eyes wandered down to watch the way the cargo fabric stretched across his waist. Eddie sighed and threw his head back, groaning. It startled the rest of the people in the room and Eddie turned. He pushed past the two men, heading toward the door again.
“What I’m talking about, Steve , is that the only good thing about your job? Is how good you look in that uniform.” He turned to look at Hopper. “Not you, though. You’re a disgrace. I’m outta here. Seeya later, squares.” Eddie opened the door to leave, trying to get out before anyone could steal the last word. As the door started to shut behind him, he could hear Steve’s stunned voice speaking loudly.
“What the FUCK is wrong with that guy?!”
–
The next day was gorgeous. The weather had turned out to be way better than Eddie could have imagined. The sun was warm and bright and it lit up the park in a way that gave Eddie such perfect nostalgia, he couldn’t have asked for a better moment. He sighed, hands on his hips and a large chain on the ground, ready to be confined to his favourite tree, a massive redwood that had been growing from before he had ever even seen it the first time as a child. The turnout hadn’t been quite what it was the other day but Eddie had expected it. It was short notice, seeing as Eddie lived by the seat of his pants. A day’s notice was more like a month in Eddie time. A few of the members of his band had shown up, and some familiar faces from the rally before. Chrissy had arrived of course, and Gareth, the drummer of Eddie’s band was flirting with her gainlessly. Eddie smirked at the duo before starting to set up near the tree. He looked around at the rest of the group and realisation slowly dawned on him. He stopped, putting his things down and standing straight with his hands on his hips.
“Hey… Where are your guy’s chains?” Eddie said slowly, frowning at the sheepish looks of his friends. Gareth looked at Chrissy, giving her a little push with his elbow. They obviously all knew the man’s weak spot. She rolled her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her.
“Eddie… Listen…” She started and Eddie groaned.
“You’re kidding, you’re gonna make me do this alone?” He whined loudly, spinning around to address everyone there. Chrissy tutted and crossed her arms, her pleated skirt swinging around her hips.
“Eddie. Come on. I gotta work tomorrow morning, Gareth has classes. We have lives. Plus, you were the one who decided this without talking to anyone. You just said show up! We’re all here to support you though!” She pulled out her phone, her pick phone case glittering in the sun. She smiled. “Besides, someone has to manage your social media. I got your back.” She gave him a peace sign and Eddie sighed, scratching the back of his head. She had a point. He had never really asked for anyone to join him. He had just assumed everything was going to go as well as the other day, not really taking into account that internet popularity was a fickle mistress. Eddie scrubbed his eyes. It wasn’t really a time to turn back now. He had already made the posts that he was going to be doing this on stream. He wasn’t going to have people calling him a coward.
“Fuck… Fine. FINE! Enjoy your lives I guess. Come over here and chain me up.” Eddie picked up his things once again and stomped over to the redwood tree. Everyone around him seemed to release a collective breath and scattered laughter sounded out amongst them, finally off the hook for the stunt. Eddie threw a blanket down at the base of the tree and flopped down onto it, unscrewing his water bottle and taking a gulp before setting it beside him and nodding at Gareth.
“Alright, come on. Chrissy, are we filming?” He asked the young woman who smiled, throwing up a peace sign. Eddie grinned widely, clapping his hands together.
“Hello, everyone! We are all gathered here today to watch the beautiful union between man and tree. I will be chaining myself to this gorgeous redwood here until I hear word from the businesses that are planning to cut her down. Gareth? Ready?" Eddie looked over his shoulder to Gareth who gave him a small salute before padlocking the chain around the tree. Chrissy gave a small whoop and thumbs up which boosted Eddie’s confidence slightly before it was halted by the sound of a vehicle approaching over the grass. He groaned, looking over to see the sidekick rolling up to the space, Robin in the passenger seat while Hop drove and Steve hung off the side.
“Great, it’s the D-List Avengers. Couldn’t you guys get the budget from Disney to get a car that fits all of you?” Eddie moaned as Steve jumped off the side, stumbling slightly and walking over to him.
“Don’t mind us, carry on with your little play.” Steve drawled, crossing his arms. “We can talk at intermission.” He smirked and Chrissy turned the camera to the man, frowning.
“We’re not doing anything illegal here.” She said from behind the phone screen, eyes on the comments rolling in. Steve shrugged as Robin and Hop walked up behind him.
“Such a guilty conscience. No one said we’re here to arrest anyone. I was just given this flyer from my friend here just like she was asked to.” He pulled a folded up paper out of his pocket, pulling it apart and waving it in the air. Eddie scowled, looking at Chrissy who was still filming Steve who had now landed his hands on his hips and was staring cockily at Eddie on the ground. She was squinting and walked closer to the officer, slowly moving the camera up and down. Eddie tilted his head.
“Chrissy, what are you doing?” He asked slowly and Chrissy glanced over her shoulder.
“Oh, the viewer number is skyrocketing. They like this guy.” She looked up at Steve. “Can you turn around?” She twirled her other finger in the air and Steve’s face dropped, his arms moving quickly to cover his body and his cheeks flushing a bright red.
“H-Hey!” He shouted and Eddie whistled loudly.
“Come on, you’re helping the cause!” Chrissy cooed and Steve shooed her, trying to jump out of frame.
“Quit it! You’re just as nuts as that guy! What is it with you social media types?” Eddie laughed, watching Chrissy chase him from his spot chained at the tree.
“Social media types?! What, are you in your fifties?” Eddie teased and Steve dodged the blonde again while Hop and Robin watched with amusement. Steve looked at Eddie.
“Can you call her off? We just wanna talk!” Steve twirled around as Chrissy followed.
“The comments are gold. Conservation daddy? Take me away, officer? I suddenly identify as a tree? This is perfect!” Chrissy giggled and Eddie suddenly felt the jealousy rise in him.
“H-hey, Chrissy that’s enough! Take a break!” Eddie called out and the girl turned to him rolling her eyes. She turned the camera and threw up a peace sign.
“Be back after a short break, gotta talk to the cops!” She said brightly and
Hop spoke up from in the distance.
“We aren’t cops.” His gruff voice was disgruntled as if coming to talk was against every fiber of his being. Chrissy tapped the screen and nodded to Eddie to clarify that the stream was off and Eddie looked over to Steve who seemed much less confident than he had when he had first arrived.
“Come on over here, big boy. I’d come to you but, well. I’m a bit preoccupied.” He waggled his eyebrows and Steve took a deep inhale. He whispered something to himself before walking over to Eddie slowly. Eddie looked him up and down. He definitely knew what all his followers meant. It wasn’t that he disagreed or wanted the attention himself. He just had first dibs on the man, despite the fact that Steve wasn’t in the same mindset. He stopped right at Eddie’s boots and looked down at him, eyes lingering over the patches that Eddie had hand sewn on his jeans, leaving the rips open at his knees. Eventually he looked into Eddie’s face and sighed. Hop and Robin had wandered over as well and before long all three of them were staring down at him in their khaki uniforms. Eddie blinked a few times before smiling.
“Is this an intervention?”
“Eddie, we want to talk about the park.” Robin started before Hopper could say anything, and Eddie could see the man’s beefy fist tightening. Something about the way he was so easy to get a rise out of made Eddie want to do just that. He wiggled his toes inside of his boots.
“I heard you say you’re not a cop. Did they kick you out because you wouldn’t stop eating the donuts? Cause the way your shirt buttons are hanging on for dear life aren’t really saying ‘I passed the physical’.” Eddie said smoothly, leaning his head back against the bark and smiling sweetly. Hopper immediately went beet red and stepped forward, ready to lay into him. Robin jumped into action, grabbing the man’s arm and looking at Steve pleadingly. Steve sighed and waved them off.
“Go, go. I’ll handle him.” He said, exhausted already from the antics of Eddie and his friends. Robin dragged an angry Hopper off to the side to calm him down, giving Eddie the opportunity to have Steve’s full attention. He sniffed softly.
“You’re gonna handle me, huh? What’s our safe word? I wanna sayyyy… Redwood?” Eddie said pleasantly and Steve pressed his lips together into a thin line nodding.
“You’re not gonna throw me off with your flirty shit anymore, man. I’m getting used to it.” Steve said gently. Eddie gasped.
“You mean you’re accepting my love? Finally. It doesn’t usually take this long for me to win people over.” Eddie was half telling the truth with that one. When he was hitting on guys usually it was over half baked hook up apps disguised as a way to find a long term lover, or with a closeted guy at the bar who was looking for an experiment. People who were already looking to be wooed. Steve was a bit different. A lot different. Steve crossed his arms.
“I figured this was just your default setting.”
“Desperately charming?”
“Just desperate. Who hits on someone at the same time they’re fighting with them?” Steve asked but he smiled slightly, just a hint at the corner of his lips. Eddie counted that as a win.
“Someone who likes to live life on the edge I guess.” Eddie responded, adjusting against the tree slightly, causing the chain to jingle. The noise distracted Steve, and he looked down at the lock that hung around the side. He frowned.
“Eddie, I know you mean well, but all this extra attention isn’t doing us any good…” Steve started. Eddie sighed.
“Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere. I’m not letting you or anyone get rid of this park, Steve.” Eddie said sincerely. “This is too important to me, more than internet fame, more than hot dudes in tiny shorts. May God forgive me.” Eddie lifted a hand and made a small cross over his chest. Steve snorted.
“I mean it. We need to get in here and work on our assignment, having all of you around all the time is getting in the way of that and the longer it takes us to get the information that we need, the more traction-”
CLINK
A loud noise distracted both of them and Eddie looked around. Steve looked behind him with a small expression of concern before his eyes widened and he crouched down suddenly.
“Hey! You look thirsty, here.” Steve said quickly. Eddie looked back to him, one eyebrow raised. Steve had picked up his water bottle and unscrewed it, holding it forward to Eddie.
“Why… I mean, okay I’m not gonna complain…” Eddie murmured and let Steve lean in and tip the bottle against his lips, a little water dribbling over. He kept eye contact with the other man the whole time as he drank and when Steve tipped the bottle back, Eddie felt a little stunned.
“Good?” Steve asked, his voice soft. Eddie blinked a few times. Maybe God didn’t hate him after all. Steve was actuallly coming around. That had to be a miracle. Eddie cleared his throat.
“Uh… Yeah. Good. That was… weirdly intimate, right?” He said and Steve laughed a little, looking behind Eddie once again and smiling.
“Sure, whatever you wanna think." Steve stood up straight. "Alright, I’m leaving. I’d say it was nice to see you, but I don’t want to get your hopes up.” Steve said happily before twisting the lid back onto the bottle and tossed it back on to the grass beside them. Eddie yelped.
“Hey! That’s my shit! Be nice to… it?” Eddie had leaned forward to grab the bottle but as he did the chain slid forward off of him and fell unceremoniously to the ground. Eddie looked around wildly. His eyes landed on the lock which remained in place. He frowned, dragging the metal toward him. “What the… What the fuck??” He shouted, coming to the end of the chain. He squinted at it. The metal had been cut right through. Eddie gawked at the chain in his hand. He looked up to say something to Steve but the officer was gone. Eddie jumped up.
“They cut my fucking chain!” Eddie shouted. The group he had arrived with looked over to him, having been ensconced in their own conversations and phones, Gareth and Chrissy having been in the middle of some sort of argument. Chrissy flipped Gareth the bird before she cocked her head at Eddie.
“What? What do you mean?” She asked as Eddie rounded the tree to see Hop throwing something in the back of the sidekick and looking extremely pleased with himself. Steve was jogging up to the vehicle and giggling, rounding it to get to the passenger side. Robin was standing watching them with her arms crossed and looking unamused. Eddie broke into a sprint.
“Hey! HEY! That’s destruction of property! I stole that chain from a junkyard, fair and square you know!!” Eddie yelled but it was too late. The sidekick was already off into the park and the men were fading into the distance. Eddie made it to Robin before he doubled over, out of breath and cursing his choices to smoke and drink as much as he did. Robin sighed.
“Children. All of you.” She muttered and Eddie shot her a look.
“You know, if they pave this park you’re out of a job. Think about that for a minute.” He spoke snidely and Robin sighed loudly, tilting her head back and closing her eyes.
“You’re fighting the wrong guys, Eddie. Maybe you should think about that for a minute.” She grumbled. The woman threw her arms up in the air and groaned. “Now I have to walk back to the station. Awesome. Fuckin’ idiots.” She started off into the park and Eddie waved his hand at her grumpily. He was over their khaki conspiracies for the day. He moped as he wandered back toward the group.
“Were literally none of you watching what was happening?” Eddie shouted and his friends and band members exchanged looks. Chrissy looked a bit sheepish.
“I dunno, I stopped watching once you started talking with the cute guy. Thought I’d give you a bit of privacy.” She held out his phone. “Do you want to start the stream again? I mean… It’s kinda…”
“Yeah, kinda spoiled. Thanks.” Eddie snatched his phone back and sighed. “Whatever. You guys can go… I’ll figure something else out.” He muttered, walking over to the redwood. He heard Chrissy ushering everyone away and asking them to give him a little space and Eddie sighed as he touched the bark of the tree.
“Sorry, I let my downstairs brain distract me, buddy. I’ll figure out a different way.” He said softly to the tree, tapping it with one finger. Eddie leaned forward to lean his forehead against it and took a deep breath. He never had a real cause before. Just a bunch of complaints and a penchant for disestablishmentarianism. This was different. This was something he was going to win.
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